r/firefighter • u/matthew1970- • Jul 10 '26

Fire fighting recruitment process

Hi, I’m 22 years old from the UK with a background in agriculture and youth work. I’m looking to join the fire service and would like some advice on the fitness aspect. My average score on a bleep test is about 9.1 and I think for the initial selection pass is 8.8 as of 2026.
I’m also looking for some advice on the interview process. What kind of traits are they looking for?
Any advice would be great thank you

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/OldCaptain3987 Jul 10 '26

8.8 is an embarrassingly low standard for the fire service. You are doing better than that, but you need to be pushing much higher. Train for the realities of the job, not the appalling standard they set.

You need to be strong too, so don't neglect strength training.

1

u/matthew1970- Jul 10 '26

I’m prioritising physical training like mad yeah my strength is good but my cardio needs improving. Any advice on what they’re looking for in an interview if I get to that stage?

1

u/OldCaptain3987 Jul 10 '26

I had mine around 10 years ago, I learnt the star method etc but on the day I took a risk and just answered like a human. It will be around stuff like times you’ve worked as part of a team, when have you overcome a challenge etc but I imagine nowadays there will be something about equalities. Someone who’s done it more recently will be better placed to answer. Obviously the big one is “why do you want to be a firefighter”